"If we sense any slowdown, we'll take the money and run,
instead of hanging around and waiting"
Robert Toll,
Chief Executive, Toll Brothers
(We, in Carroll Gardens, can only hope, Mr. Toll)
NEW YORK, Sept 4 (Reuters) - Toll Brothers Inc said on Thursday the condo market in New York City is not as strong as it was, and the company is "scared" about the market's future amid deterioration in the financial industry.
"It has felt some of the storm that's come to the residential real estate market in the country," Chief Executive Bob Toll said during the company's third-quarter conference call.
Pardon me for asking, but if Bob Toll, one of the Toll Brothers, is so pessimistic about the New York Condo market, why is his New York V.P. David Von Spreckelsen, still pushing so hard to get the development at 363-365 Bond Street off the ground?
Notice that the interview took place at the beginning of September, shortly before the looming bank fiasco and Wall Street's steep decline .
At last week's Community Board 6 Landmark/ Land Use Committee meeting , at which members voted overwhelmingly to approve the spot rezoning needed by Toll, Von Spreckelsen stated that he had been working on the project for four years. Maybe so, but during that period, things have changed drastically here in the city. Given the new financial reality, why on earth would the development company of luxury McMansions take a chance in adding over 400 condo units along one of the most polluted waterways?
Local residents have been very outspoken against the project, citing health hazards as well as flooding issues in the Gowanus area. All of that has fallen on deaf ears with members of our Community Board as well as with our Councilman.
Hopefully, the financial crisis will accomplish what our representatives have so far failed to do: stop a project that would place its residents in harm's way.
Related reading:
CB6 Land Use Committee Votes Yes To Toll Brothers Project: That's What $365 K Worth Of Lobbying Buys
Toll Brothers Spent $365,000 On Lobbying For Gowanus Rezoning
For Home Page, click Pardon Me For Asking
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